The repair of fiberglass gel coat surfaces is often a complex, difficult, and a messy procedure. More often than not, it is performed by a skilled professional due to these undesirable complexities. This type of repair or project is often best left to the seasoned professional in order to achieve a close and acceptable color match that is structurally sound and applied to hold up to the elements and last for years.
Epoxies, gel coats, adhesives, binders, and other additives used in fiberglass gel coat repair exist in a number of different delivery, carrier, and mixing system formats. For example, gel coats can come in pastes, liquids, one-part, two-part, and even multiple-part formats. Each different format requires and involves different measuring, mixing, and handling of the components contained in the kit. The combination of all of these different formats, exemplifies the complexity and the confusion often associated with the repair of fiberglass gel coat surfaces. These numerous challenges in the typical repair kit can be intimidating enough to scare off the more seasoned do-it-yourselfer.
Another impediment and problem faced by individuals in the repair of fiberglass gel coat surfaces is the need for repair kits to be clean, simple, affordable, and be a consistent and repeatable means for the repair of scratches, nicks, cracks and small holes in fiberglass gel coat surfaces. Often times, what is available for purchase and available to use by the do-it-yourself repair person in the retail market is a multitude of colors and hardeners, fillers, and binders that must be mixed together to achieve a color match that with much luck and frustration, results in a color that might be close in matching the surface that is being repaired. Not only must these components be properly mixed to achieve a correct color match, they must also be mixed and combined in such a way to properly ensure structural integrity for a long lasting and appealing structural and cosmetic repair. To add to the confusion, many of the kits that exist and are for sale in the retail market come with colors that the consumer will never use and will eventually end up in the landfill.
A majority of the present day kits offer multiple components with little instruction in terms of color matching. Typical mix and match gel coat repair kits consist of a gel coat paste, six or more coloring agents, hardener solution, mixing sticks and mixing cups, and mixing and color blending instructions.